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Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2015

The State Party reports that some actions have been undertaken towards enabling the restoration of the legal protection status of parts of the property. Studies on the region of the Chapada dos Veadeiros component, including on socioeconomic issues, land structure and natural environment, had been commissioned and were concluded in November 2014 and alternatives are currently being worked out for expansion and consolidation of the protected areas within the area originally designated as World Heritage and in its surroundings.

The State Party notes that the process towards restoring legal protection and extension of the current Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is, however, receiving political resistance as it involves unresolved land tenure issues. Due to presidential elections, 2014 was considered by the State Party as a politically inappropriate year for conducting the required public consultations on the expansion of protected areas. These consultations are therefore expected to be carried out throughout 2015.

On 3 April 2015, the State Party provided additional information stating that a proposal for the expansion of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park was in process of being finalized and was expected to be ready by May 2015. Once public hearings have been held on the proposal, it will be submitted to the Ministry of Environment and subsequently to the President of Brazil for approval. The proposal for expansion of the national park is stated to include areas of the 2001 expansion, as well as additional areas south of the national park.

No information is provided on the implementation of other recommendations of the 2013 IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission.

Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2015

The information provided by the State Party on the steps undertaken towards the restoration of the legal protection status of the areas within the Chapada dos Veadeiros component of the property is noted. However, it is regrettable that despite some progress, adequate protection of this component has not been restored. It is also noted that the State Party did not submit a proposal for significant boundary modification of the property, which was requested by the Committee at its 37th session, and that no new conservation units have been established within the property and in its surroundings to date, despite some efforts deployed by the State Party in this domain. It is recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to resolve land tenure issues in and around the Chapada dos Veadeiros component of the property, in order to enable significant progress to be made with the restoration of its protection status and the design of a revised boundary, in consultation with the landowners of the areas that would be considered for inclusion in the property and its buffer zone. The additional information provided by the State party on 3 April 2015, stating that the proposal for expansion of the Chapada dos Veadeiros component is expected to be finalized and presented for public hearings by May 2015, is noted.

It is recalled that this issue was first raised by the Committee at its 35th session in 2011. Since then the Committee has repeatedly reiterated its request to restore the legal protection status for the entire property. Despite some progress achieved by the State Party, the legal protection regime over 72% of the Chapada dos Veadeiros component has not been restored to date and the property’s integrity is considered to not be guaranteed and therefore the property remains in a situation of potential danger in line with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines. In Decision 37 COM 7B.29, the Committee considered that if no significant progress to address the lack of protection of parts of the property had been achieved by its 39th session, the property would be considered for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger. It is therefore recommended, in line with Decision 37 COM 7B.29, that the Committee inscribe the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger, and that it request the State Party to develop a proposed set of corrective measures, a timeframe for their implementation and a Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN.

Reiterates its concern that the majority of the Chapada dos Veadeiros component of this serial property continues to no longer benefit from National Park status, and that its integrity is therefore no longer guaranteed;

Notes with concern the lack of significant progress to address the lack of protection of parts of the property, as requested by the World Heritage Committee;

Recognizes the actions recently undertaken by the State Party to consider alternatives for the expansion and consolidation of protected areas within the area originally designated as World Heritage and its surroundings, especially the launch of a public consultation process to discuss the expansion of Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, as well as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Environment, the Chico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity (ICMBio) and the government of the State of Goiás to improve land management and environmental actions in the Chapada dos Veadeiros component of the property;

Recalls that, according to the Operational Guidelines, modification of the legal protective status of the area represents a potential danger and therefore a case for inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger;

Regrets that no major boundary modification of the property has been submitted for consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session, in line with Paragraph 165 of the Operational Guidelines and as requested by the Committee at its 37th session, and that no new conservation units have been established within and outside the property;

Urges the State Party to resolve land tenure issues in and around the Chapada dos Veadeiros component of the property, in order to enable significant progress to be made with the restoration of its protection status and the design of a revised boundary, in consultation with the landowners of the areas that would be considered for inclusion in the property and its buffer zone;

Acknowledges the willingness of the State Party to invite an IUCN Advisory Mission, to discuss the results of the public consultation process and examine the possible need and related procedures of a major boundary modification and re-nomination;

Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2016, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016, with a view to considering, in the case that significant progress to address the lack of protection of parts of the property has not been achieved, the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

39 COM 8E

Adoption of Retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value

The World Heritage Committee,

Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/8E.Rev,

Congratulates the States Parties for the excellent work accomplished in the elaboration of retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value for World Heritage properties located within their territories;

Adopts the retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value, as presented in the Annex of Document WHC-15/39.COM/8E.Rev, for the following World Heritage properties:

Belarus: Architectural, Residential and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh;

Belgium: Flemish Béguinages; Historic Centre of Brugge; The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and their Environs, La Louvière and Le Roeulx (Hainault);

Canada / United States of America: Waterton Glacier International Peace Park;

Canada: Dinosaur Provincial Park; Gros Morne National Park; Historic District of Old Québec; Miguasha National Park; Old Town Lunenburg; Sgang Gwaay; Wood Buffalo National Park;

France / Spain : Pyrénées – Mont Perdu ;

Greece: Acropolis, Athens; Archaeological Site of Olympia; Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns; Delos; Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus;

Italy: 18th-Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex; Archaeological Area of Agrigento; Castel del Monte; Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci; Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeological sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula; City of Verona; City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto; Crespi d’Adda; Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna; Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli; Historic Centre of San Gimignano; Historic Centre of Siena; Historic Centre of the City of Pienza; Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily); Rock Drawings in Valcamonica; Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy; Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica; The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera;

Montenegro: Durmitor National Park;

Russian Federation: Architectural Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad; Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery; Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent; Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments; Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings; Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow;

Serbia: Stari Ras and Sopoćani; Studenica Monastery;

Slovakia: Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity;

Spain: Aranjuez Cultural Landscape; Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco; Archaeological site of Atapuerca; Garajonay National Park; Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula;

Sweden: Engelsberg Ironworks;

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region;

Peru: Historical Centre of the City of Arequipa; Huascarán National Park; Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Pampas de Jumana; Manú National Park; Río Abiseo National Park;

Saint Kitts and Nevis: Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park;

4. Decides that retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value for World Heritage properties in Danger will be reviewed in priority by the Advisory Bodies;

5. Takes note that the World Heritage Centre, further to Decision 38 COM 8E, continues to harmonize all sub-headings in the adopted Statements of Outstanding Universal Value and updates names and sizes or buffer zones, as appropriate, following relevant Decisions of the Committee concerning changes of names and Minor Boundary Modifications;

6. Requests the States Parties to provide support to the World Heritage Centre for translation of the adopted Statements of Outstanding Universal Value into English or French respectively, and further requests the World Heritage Centre to upload the two language versions on its web site.

Draft Decision: 39 COM 7B.27

Reiterates its concern that the majority of the Chapada dos Veadeiros component of this serial property continues to no longer benefit from National Park status, and that its integrity is therefore no longer guaranteed;

Recognizes the actions undertaken by the State Party to consider alternatives for the expansion and consolidation of protected areas within the area originally designated as World Heritage and its surroundings, but notes with concern that no significant progress to address the lack of protection of parts of the property has been achieved to date, and considers, in line with Decision 37 COM 7B.29, that the property meets the conditions for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in conformity with Paragraph 180 of the Operational Guidelines;

Decides to inscribe Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks (Brazil) on the List of World Heritage in Danger;

Requests the State Party, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, to develop a proposed set of corrective measures, a timeframe for their implementation and a proposal for the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger, for examination by the Committee at its 40th session in 2016;

Regrets that no major boundary modification of the property has been submitted for consideration by the World Heritage Committee, in line with Paragraph 165 of the Operational Guidelines and as requested by the Committee at its 37th session, and that no new conservation units have been established within and outside the property;

Urges the State Party to resolve land tenure issues in and around the Chapada dos Veadeiros component of the property, in order to enable significant progress to be made with the restoration of its protection status and the design of a revised boundary, in consultation with the landowners of the areas that would be considered for inclusion in the property and its buffer zone;

Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2016, an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.

* :
The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).